Posts by Anon Adderlan

Mobile device screens recorded using the Certifi-gate vulnerability

So an app downloaded by a user, doing what the user INTENDS, happens to take advantage of a security vulnerability. You know what else users do that's enabled by a security vulnerability? Root and jailbreak their mobile devices.

This is exactly the kind of hyperbolic distortion of context that causes people to ignore security companies, and rightfully so. If it's a dangerous vulnerability, then give me examples of exploits which are being used to cause HARM. Otherwise, you just weaken your case.

Bloke clicks GitHub 'commit' button in Visual Studio, gets slapped with $6,500 AWS bill

This is the kind of thing that keeps me up at night

If 'I'm' buying over a thousand dollars worth of instances, then I want Amazon to confirm it was actually ME before I'm billed. I also want to set limits on what and how much an AWS key can be used for. I can already do both with credit card numbers, so what's the deal here? This kind of theft seems ridiculously easy otherwise.

Jailbreaking pirates popped in world's largest iCloud raid – 225,000 accounts hit

Consider This:

If you're able to jailbreak your device, it means there's a security vulnerability which allowed for it. And if you could access your device on that level, then so could anyone else. So I don't want my device to be jailbreakable. What I want is a secure device/OS and the keys to manage it myself. Because if I want to download sketchy Russian porn, then I should have the right to be that stupid.

Copyright troll wants to ban 'copyright troll' from its copyright troll lawsuit

But if they're not purveyors of fine pornography, how can they fine people for pirating the pornography they don't purvey?

Malibu Media has no legal standing to sue for pirating material they do not have any rights to. And if they are suing over titles like "Anal Armageddon II, The Second Cumming", then I think it's fair to call them pornographers.

Oh, and if they were seeding their own work on Torrent, it means they intended for and approved of others distributing their work for free. You can't sue over work you made publicly available yourself, and putting your work on Torrent carries with it certain (legally enforceable) expectations.

Devs are SHEEP. Which is good when the leader writes secure code

So programmers are social animals after all.

Silly Google's Photos app labelled black people as gorillas

Get Smart

Inference engines (I refuse to call them AIs) are rather likely to make inferences we may not like as they develop. But when that happens, do we accept the results and refine the feedback based on that, or do we deny the results and give the engine feedback based on our own biases?

And while this is indeed an embarrassing result, the only way to improve things is to gather more data from users, so it has to be in play while it's making these mistakes. Ever notice the kind of conclusions a young child will make before they 'know' better (or acquire prejudices) and start watching what they say? Yeah, we're at that stage, and Google will get better at discerning man from beast as time goes on.

Facebook and Twitter queen Taylor Swift: Facebook and Twitter are RUBBISH

Two, TWO PROBLEMS...

The problem with Twitter is that it confuses talking ABOUT someone with talking TO them (forcing you to engage with someone who is referring to you in the third person), and 140 characters is not enough context (the wit of brevity is an actual thing) when communicating with strangers (or worse, hostiles). I honestly can't conceive of a social network better designed to create conflict than Twitter.

Sticks and Stones

I agree with the sentiment, as basing your self worth on popularity has always been toxic. But the things said on Facebook and Twitter do more than just that at this point. They can affect your safety and livelihood.

So the argument that all this noise shouldn't matter (and it shouldn't) gets undermined by the fact that the medium can cost people their jobs, and affect the behavior of giant corporations such as Apple, *if* you're popular enough.

With Hobbit and LoTR in the can, Trolls no longer welcome in New Zealand

Sticks and Stones

For reference: http://www.legislation.govt.nz/bill/government/2013/0168/9.0/versions.aspx

This bill defines 'harm' as 'serious emotional distress', 'digital communication' as 'any form of electronic communication' (which I guess in that case includes analog), and 'cyber bullying' as...oh wait, it doesn't mention that at all. There are way too many people who see any challenge to their worldview to be a personal threat for this law to work. Or maybe that's the point.

And 'A digital communication should not denigrate an individual by reason of his or her colour, race, ethnic or national origins, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or disability.' Well guess which one you have a choice in? So you can't 'attack' someone because of what they believe, no matter how stupid or destructive. Complicated, because I consider religious folks who encourage others to treat women as property, believe the high rate of transgender suicides is due to regretting gender reassignment surgery, think sleeping with any race other than your own is bestiality, cut off certain parts of your genitals (and I'm talking FGM too), and prevent folks from buying beer on Sunday, to be exceedingly harmful, and I reserve the right to call them sanctimonious twats directly.

What I DON'T reserve the right to do is form a campaign to get them banned from events having nothing to do with their beliefs, get them fired from their job, or arrested. And if what they say causes me emotional distress, then I don't have to listen. The only time I do is when it would cause either me or the people I care about physical or financial harm, and the law already has my back on that. This law however allows someone to be arrested over hurt feelings due to criticizing a belief system, and that's INCREDIBLY dangerous.

But again, maybe that's the point.

Samsung/Cheil merger goes on: Soz Elliot, not this time, says court

Samsung Korea

> If you don't like what the company is doing, take your money elsewhere, nobody is forcing you to buy their shares.

The whole point of having shares is to have a say in how a corporation is run. And where should they take their money when Samsung keeps absorbing other corporations?

These corporations win by making sure there's nowhere else to take your money. And Samsung is a favored child in South Korea, to the point that it might as well be a ruling dynasty. Both these things need to be actively fought against for there to even BE somewhere else to take your money.

This is why (at least in the US) public companies are managed under different laws than private ones. But sure, take your money elsewhere while you can.

Vicious vandals violate voluminous Versailles vagina

Maybe after a few beers, if I squint hard enough...

So here's a link with images of exactly what the vandals did. Now I don't think this sculpture looks anything like a vagina, but if you do then this link isn't work safe either...

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-33189194

...because it looks like, er, um, you know, that thing that happens when, uh...

Regardless, it strikes me as less a case of raw vandalism and more a case of genuine (if vulgar) artistic expression.